Comments ~ 2006: March

The post bag is full with views on the Regional Championships around the country to our best fans and much, much more as the contesting season gets you hot under the collar...

YORKSHIRE:

A warm touch from the composer

I read the letter from Stephen Bradnum regarding my apparent coldness towards him with a mixture of horror and bewilderment.

Firstly, can I make it clear that any perceived slight was completely unintentional and I take this opportunity to publicly apologise if any offence was caused.  Those who know me best don't tend to bracket me with the "touchy feely" crowd but I had not realised that my countenance can wreak such havoc and apologise to anyone else I have inadvertently slighted over the years.

Can I also take this opportunity courtesy of the 4BR conciliation service to invite Stephen and his guest to lunch. I will also hopefully be able to prevail upon Dr Roy Newsome to join us in an environment more conducive to conversation than a few moments grabbed between bands at St. Georges Hall.

Finally, I must tell Stephen that my wife is in complete agreement with him on the subject of smiling. Her diary records a flicker from me on the occasion of Manchester United's Champions League triumph in May 1999, but not much else since. I promise to try harder. 
 
Peter Graham

4BR Reply:
Thanks Peter. If Stephen contacts us we will pass on the deatils.

Attacking a percussionist!

Well Mr Fox et al, it doesn't seem that my performance at Yorkshires 2nd section regional contest impressed you very much! (Percussion: Frickley/South Elmsall)

I'm sorry if your hearing aids were packing up by Sunday morning. You were totally wrong about the adjudicators remarks by the way.

Not a peep about the ear splitting teeth chattering noise that obliterated the fine brass playing. And having been a professional musician for 12 years under including others Lt Col F Renton, I think I know what I'm talking about, and could handle the dynamic range of Images better than most!

I am an avid reader of 4BR and normally can associate somewhat with what you write, but your comments about me amounted to character assassination.

I would hope that you reflect on your "opinion" and print an apology, more for Frickley's other players sake as my own, as their performance deserved more than the dozen or so words you managed to type before launching into your assault on me.

I would like to thank publicly the MD David Nichols for the fine work he has done over the past few weeks and the support he has shown for me in response to your attack.

I look forward to meeting you at the next contest!

Mark Gillat

4BR Reply:
We are sorry that you felt we were being unfair, but we did state that your were a fine player. It was entertaining though!

NORTH WEST:

4BR not agreeing with the adjudicator

I have read the retrospective from Sunday's North West Area Contest at Blackpool, and I am horrified to see the comments made about Besses o'th Barn's performance.

"Besses wasn't good at all and the band sounded completely ill at ease with the piece.  The poor opening never recovered and the performance nose-dived down hill with a real uninspiring flatness about it.  Sadly the soloists didn't shine and their wobbles didn't bring any real stability to the performance.  It's possible that relegation is on the cards for the band, and although they finished in fifth place at Pontins last year, this was another offering indicating Besses are a bit out of sorts at the moment."

I would be very grateful if you would pass on the adjudicator's remarks below to Malcolm Wood, as Malcolm's report certainly doesn't match these remarks.

John Berryman made several very encouraging and positive remarks. It certainly wasn't the negative and uninspiring performance which is implied by Malcolm Wood. Besses never expected to be in the prizes, nor did we expect to come 13th, but such a condemning retrospective is in very bad taste.

Helen Minshall.

NW Area Contest - 12th March 2006 - Drawn 6 - Placed 13th

Quite a nicely controlled opening but could have done with a touch more trom. Then exciting playing from the Vivace - well done percussion. M - Excellent duet Ebs.  Beautifully shaped before N which itself is effective. P - heavy entry.  Trom is flat compared to the horn E but nicely shaped. Chords after Q not well in tune and isn't maintained underneath cornet solo which is well played. Well done Sop. Intonation again not as it should be and solos not quite expressive enough between S and T. Intonation always ill at ease along here through U and V to W. Well done cornet and euph. X - fairly effective.  Not great clarity at Z and it feels a touch frenetic. From F1 it's just a bit too forced I feel although effective final bars. Unfortunately the middle section suffered quite badly with intonation problems.
John Berryman

4BR Reply:
Thanks Helen – but you miss the point of us providing retrospective reports.  Opinions – that is what it is all about and if ours is different to Mr Berryman's or anyone else's then so be it. How on earth that can be in bad taste is completely beyond us!

Muted judge

Having rehearsed for this very important contest (North West Regional Second Section) for the last 6 weeks and every night in the last week leading up to the day, on Sunday I listened to all the bands,(apart from the band that was awarded 1st place).

I was very disappointed that the Adjudicator did not make any address to the audience and the Bandspersons on their performance, whilst the typed remarks were very brief and did not give any constructive criticism.
 
If we are to improve the standards of bands in the lower sections we must have more encouragement from these so called ‘eminent adjudicators.' 
 
Mark Singleton

A little bit of self praise doesn't go a miss

In regards to your retrospectives for Pemberton Old Wigan JJB Band at the recent North West area contest, I feel that maybe you didn't listen to the band as closely as you should've done. 

I do no feel that the band where as disappointing and lifeless as you have made out, and as for your comments on the soloists I think you'll find you are mistaken.  As you put it: "Mark Peacock gave the opportunity for his soloists to shine and whilst they all had a few wobbles..."

Whilst this may be true of the cadenza soloists (sorry Jo, Alec, Barry and Chris) it is far from true for our solo horn player, Pete Lyons and myself (the flugel player).  We both had a fantastic day with our solos.  We didn't fluff any notes and I made my mum cry with my playing!! Even John Berryman in his remarks stated "S. Lovely flowing flugel".
 
My advice to you lot in future is to stop being so biased with the "top" bands, we all have to start somewhere and to have people like you crush our dreams because you haven't bothered to listen properly could quite possibly ruin a veritable career. 

Personally I would appreciate a more positive outlook in your retrospectives because you don't know who you're offending, or even what you are talking about!!
 
Carina Halliwell
Flugel Horn
Pemberton Old Wigan JJB Band

4BR Reply:
Self praise eh? 

Moore or less?

I have just read your review re: 4barsrest Championship Section Retrospective on the North West Areas.

I'm writing to you with regards to Dobcross's retrospective. Every time they perform you mention the Moore brothers. Yes they are good players but believe it or not there are some other very fine soloists within this band and surely they deserve a mention. Why are you so focused on the Moore family that you fail to hear anything else?

Laura Hirst was most definitely one of the best soloists on the day with some people saying she was the best solo cornet player out of all bands who performed.

Rachel Bell
An outsider looking in!

4BR Reply:
What we try to do Rachel is to highlight those performers who do catch our ear during a performance, and that includes all the players. We would also ask to read other reports of the band over the past few years to see that we do mention other players in the band.

Comfort Zone banding

Having just read your review on a most disappointing Championship section I (not the band) felt strongly compelled to drop a line regarding the "comfort zone" band.

The band actually thought it played well and gave the piece a fair attempt, not good enough to win anything but well none the less. I don't believe anyone played in the comfort zone but actually went for it. There are a number of players within the band that wouldn't show themselves up in any band in the country.

We actually turned up with the intention of competing and not just to make up the numbers. I know your remarks did not slate the band for daring to play against the Fodens and Faireys of this world but they did actually make a few of us think why do we bother after all the effort we put in.
 
M. Banks.
Blackburn and Darwen.

Not a great day at the seaside

Sunday I among many, were at the Blackpool contest, Northwest Areas.  I would like to ask if anyone else found the stewards and staff there particularly unhelpful and in parts rude?

Our band had an absolute nightmare with the staff involved in the contest and feel frustrated with our result, which brings me onto the next gripe, why is there a 4 minute rule to set up?  I understand this was set sometime ago before the advancement of percussion in the modern brass band. 

Some bands seem to get away with extra minutes while others penalised or threatened to be penalised, if they are going to be applying the rule in places then the rule should be applied across the board, there is nothing more frustrating than inconsistent rules!

That said I would like to discuss the lack of use the adjudicators remarks were this year! The typed page of what seemed to sum to 5 lines of words, using capital letters and a large font to appear to be filling the page, just simply lacked any detail good or bad.  Mr Richards clearly disapproved of something our band did to the piece yet couldn't tell us what, how therefore can we take anything back to the drawing board to improve. 

To add to the lack of remarks, Mr Richards didn't even stand up to comment on the bands in general before the results.  Again disappointment. 

Has the recording of the contest performance been thought of or used before?  This in the 21st century is relatively simple to sort out, that way the band can play back the performance and gain a little insight on how they did, creating a little less biased view and maybe a little more understanding!  

A fair few people in the audience had our band as coming second on Sunday yet the adjudicator put us 11th, I wouldn't mind but most had the top 4 right, so we are truly at a loss and none the wiser!!!

Gillian Spragg

You can't get the staff these days

I am writing to voice my disappointment at the standard of the Winter Garden staff at the North West areas this year. 

Although the Winter Gardens is an excellent choice of venue for the area contest as it is the only area that holds all five sections on one day. I found the security staff at the quite rude and abrupt when asking for thing like band passes and tickets, seeing that many people are asked at the door of the complex to show their ticket before they have even got in. Then to only then walk five yards down the hall to be asked again is a bit over the top perhaps. 

Also, fellow bands person on trying to find registration for their section after walking round the Winter Gardens were told that the complex was not open to the public today!  I know that the weather played a big part in the low turn out of audience that I have seen in over 11 years of area contests at Blackpool but people turning up off spec to be greeted by that sort of comment would turn people away who might of turned up just to see what was going on. 

This is not slur on the North West Brass Band Association who do a good job at running this contest but the Winter Garden staff. 

Colin Doran
BBb Bass Old Hall Brass

SCOTLAND:

There's no business like snow business

Firstly can I say congratulations to David Crookston for his wonderful retrospectives on the Scottish Championships, in particular the glowing report he gave our band - Dalmellington.
 
I would however like to set the record straight as to how we got to the contest.  Whilst it is true that our bus company cancelled on us that morning, after many frantic phonecalls we managed to get another company to take us.  Dunaskin Doon's bus actually got stuck en route to their hall and they ended up travelling on our bus and also had to use our big instruments as they were unable to get their own.  So we were actually their good Samaritans rather than the other way round.  Full details of our heroic efforts to get to the contest are on our website.  http://www.geocities.com/dalmellingtonband/Scottish_2006.html
 
 
Diane
Dalmellington Band

4BR Reply:
Thanks Diane and congratulations. We are sure that in the years to come, the story will be become an urban myth with even deeper snow, an even older bus and even more people rescued! 

17 and counting?

Just a quick comment on the accuracy of your reports on the Scottish Championships 2006.

I am pretty sure that "the Co" has won the Scottish throne on more than the reported 17 occasions. As a member of CWS Glasgow some 20 years ago, we were already then counting well into double figures.

Olav M Skår

4BR Reply:
We have checked our records and ca confirm that since 1945 when the contest became the Regional Championships it has been the 17. Of course as the Scottish Championships have been going much longer than this, the ‘National' titles may be many more.

Can singing be penalised?
 
A  discordant  finish  to  a  section  of  music  theses  days  would  be  no  unusual  thing,  as  was  the  case  this  year  in  the  music  received  for  the  Fourth  Section  test  piece  i.e.  last  chord  in  the  first  movement. E  major  chord  with  an  F sharp  thrown  in, written  in  the  score  and  on  the  solo  cornet  part. SHOULD A  BAND  BE  PENALISED  FOR  THIS  IF  NO  ERRATA  WAS  RECEIVED?
 
On  the  day  of  the  contest  our  conductor  was  accused  of  ‘singing  at  letter  E'  in  a  later  movement, yet  26  players  on  stage  and  officials  at  the  side  can  vouch  that  there  was  no  singing  on  stage .. SHOULD A  BAND  BE  PENALISED  FOR  THIS?  Especially if that band's  performance  is  such  that  someone  in  the  audience  feels  that they  want  to  sing  along!
 
Contesting  is  always  a  learning  curve  for  all  playing  members,  from  the  poorest  to  the  principals, but  in  this  case,  it  must  include  the  men  in  the  box  and  I  quote  from  their  crit .. ‘GET  IT  RIGHT'
 
Kay  Murray 
Secretary
Brass Sounds Inverclyde

4BR Reply:
We don't think there is anything in the rules about singing Kay, and a number of famous MDs have been known to ‘sing along' with even some of the best bands in the world. If it starts to interfere though then perhaps being told by the adjudicator may stop the problem occurring in future.

LONDON AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES:

Getting out more often.
 
You really do need to get out more often! In the L&SC preview you rightly comment on the support received by Southern Band Associations: "there are regular contests from Great Yarmouth to Stevenage throughout the year"
 
However, I think the name "London & Southern Counties" should give you a clue as to the geography of the region! Last time I checked, Great Yarmouth & Stevenage were NORTH of London!
 
Andy Wooler
Hove (home of the SCABA Spring contest, 25 miles from Crawley, home of the SCABA Entertainments contest and about 90 mins drive from Folkestone, home of the SCABA Autumn Contest).

4BR Reply:
Thanks Andy – you are not a geography teacher by any chance?

MIDLANDS:

Not tonight Josephine

Your retrospective re the Midland Area Championship section makes interesting reading.

I see you have had no issues bringing the adjudicators decision into question regarding the first placed band but say nothing about the placing of the second placed band. By your comments you seem to imply here was a performance (Jaguar Band) to match that set by Grimethorpe and Black Dyke the previous weekend. Would it have anything to do with the fact you (the reviewer) have signed to play for Jaguar the rest of this year by any chance?

If you are going to write articles relating to band contests then the least you can do is write without bias - this you are incapable of doing when you have a vested interest and it clearly shows. So let's put the record straight from a non-playing, non associated member of the audience who heard every band and who at least had tried to write without bias.

There was not one performance without flaw on the day some were unfortunately more flawed than others. Two bands stood out head and shoulders above any others (one was not Jaguar) they were Desford and Woolley Pritchard Sovereign Brass. I could write a retrospective for the whole 11 bands but there is no point and will not get across the point I wish to make.

There is no point criticising the adjudication of this contest - read down the results and it is there for all to see. It will also change nothing as it has happened many times before and no doubt will again. It appears
to be the enigma that is banding. However, it never fails to amaze me how we the audience can be in almost total agreement (as we were the weekend) and the adjudicators find otherwise.

It is also very clear the adjudicators judged only chosen bars and not the piece as a whole - this is evident by the placing of bands one and two who were relatively safe in both the opening movements and the chording in the slower passages. I would reiterate the word safe and not musical by the way.

The two bands who were quality (but not without blemishes it must be said) must have been scratching their heads in disbelief following the results. The total quality of playing from these two bands set them apart - they gave musical performances with top class band sounds.

The adjudicators summing up said they looked for bands who played the written dynamics particularly pianissimo. The only band to play pianissimo on the day was W P Sovereign (and what a wonderfully big warm sound when it was required) which might account for the middle section chords faltering. Desford's performance was less error strewn and for me they would have claimed top position for the cleaner performance - if they practiced together more often they would be untouchable.

Bands placed one and two didn't get below mp or above f+ but there was plenty of huff and puff about both performances. I am puzzled as to why you failed to mention the alarming drop in tempo in the Jaguar performance at the beginning of the fast movement (probably from 190 down to 155) and when you mention all soloists you didn't obviously count the tuba duet – sorry, its not personal but it is factual.

The Newstead performance was for me over blown, lacking finesse but obviously had something the judges loved - I at least agree with that point in your retrospective. Whatever it was only the adjudicators alone know. I am sorry Mr Lea and Mr Beckley this is not personal and through the sheer hard work and dedication you show I believe you both deserve your slice of luck.

I listened for consistency of performance, musicality and an overall quality of sound that would represent the Midlands well in London - the adjudicators in my opinion did not. I have no doubt both Newstead and Jaguar will give of their all come October and I wish them very best wishes in London. For the record I had the following: Desford 192; Woolley Pritchard Sovereign Brass 191; Thoresby Welfare 189; Jaguar City of Coventry 188.

Josephine Jones
Hereford

4BR Reply:
It's all about opinions Josephine – yours included; but you are so way off the mark with the accusation of bias and vested interest – nearly as far as your opinion of the results?

The curse of the mobile phone

It is always great to read through all the many comments that find their way to you at 4BR, but why is it that everyone seems to be more interested in grousing and sniping at yourselves, themselves and/or the adjudicators (and of course the unfavourable decisions) than the idiots in the audience who do not turn off their mobile 'phones?
 
I had a great time at the Midlands 4th Section on Sunday, with my relatively young and inexperienced band, and like most MDs I was unable to hear all of the bands, but when I did get into the contest hall towards the end of the day, the experience was marred by an array of ring tones and beeps from 'live' mobile 'phones.
 
It seems to me that something needs to be done about this deteriorating situation and soon, as it appears to have got way out of hand: I listened with delight to Wellington as they roared through their performance of Anglian Dances to a well deserved victory (in my humble opinion - apologies to the wannabes that thought they were better!) but to my horror, during a quieter moment, some idiot's 'phone went off and I noticed that this instantly and clearly upset their MD's rhythm.

This is totally unfair as it could mean the difference between winning or otherwise - if the MD is knocked off balance (so to speak) he or she could momentarily lose the concentration needed to lead the band securely. God only knows how many times this happened during the whole day!?
 
So come on committees, get tough! Police the audiences, be more aggressive and extract these morons for the good and benefit of us all - not least the hardworking bands and MDs on the stage.
 
 
Mike Cooper
MD, Hathern 'B'
 
P.S. A further thought (and perhaps a tip) to one or two total imbeciles in the audience on Sunday afternoon - turning off your ringtone does not automatically cancel the incoming message alerts! You know who you are!! Turn the blasted things off completely! Pleeeease. Ta!

4BR Reply:
Well said Mike – we just hope people listen!

Smelling the coffee in Burton on Trent!

Having spent the vast majority of my 40+ years contesting the Yorkshire area at St Georges Hall Bradford, and having again visited the Yorkshire region on the 4th March to enjoy the magnificent surroundings, I was astonished and totally dismayed to attend the Midlands area on Sunday 12th march at such a miserable, unwelcoming, and totally unfit for purpose venue as the Belvedere Club.
 
Having been drawn early in the 24 Band sweepstake, and leaving the East coast at 6am, (some members at 5-15am) it is hardly an inspirational nor motivational experience to share the building with outdoor bowling fanatics, (yes bowling in a blizzard) 5 football teams, 3 geographically challenged glass collectors, a pot washer that threw everything from 3 yards, and the most amazing suction fan, situated right above the heads of the two adjudicators.

A jobsworth steward who declined the use of a toilet "till ya through registration" and the Wheeltappers and Shunters club stage to play your best on, was all designed as part of the ritual to test the musicality of our 24 lowest graded bands.

It is good to play in the magnificence of the St Georges Hall, The Winter Gardens Blackpool, Brangwyn Hall Swansea, The Dolphin Centre Darlington, and the down trodden working mens club in Burton-On-Trent (not).

Your article on the state of the brass band scene in Yorkshire was an interesting perspective on an area that I remember posting nearly 30 Bands in the 4th Section back in the 70s 80s. Yet I must admit, even as a Yorkshireman, that the standard in the Midlands in the lower sections is so much higher and consistent as to warrant some summary justice and respect in the choice and appropriateness of venue that we are to wean and nurture tomorrows "stars" in during competition - particularly the one and only grading competition of the year.

Is it really necessary, justifiable, appropriate, and sustainable to have 24 Bands at one area, 12 at another, 11 at another, when the geography of the whole regional system should suggest that a rationalisation of the lower sections 3/4 would be most appropriate, particularly around the North East, Yorkshire and Midlands.

If we are to sustain a credible national system for grading purposes, then I ask, nay beg the powers that be, to provide consistency, unanimity, and above all, respect for players at ALL levels, and ALL age

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